§ Mr. FlightTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many outsourced IT contracts have been signed by his Department in each year since 1997; how much each of these contracts is worth; with whom they are signed; how many have been renegotiated; how many are still in place; and if he will make a statement. [126196]
§ Maria EagleThe question covers periods prior to the establishment of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in June 2001. This reply therefore relates to outsourced IT contracts signed by the former Employment Service and the former Department for Social Security, both of whom had made their own contractual arrangements prior to merging to form DWP. No further outsourced IT contracts have been signed since the formation of DWP.
IT Partnership Agreement: On 1 August 1998, the Employment Service outsourced its IT work in a contract with Electronic Data Systems. In October 2000, the agreement was revised to reflect major new investment in IT and telephony to improve services for jobless people and employers in the Modernising Employment Service (MES) Project.
Strategic Outsourcing Business Allocation (SOBA): On 1 September 2000, the Department of Social Security outsourced the provision of its IT design, development, delivery functions and operations to Electronic Data Systems, as prime contractor of the Affinity consortium.
Both contracts are still in place.
The value of these contracts is commercial in confidence and is not disclosed in line with paragraph 13, Part 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
The Department for Work and Pensions continuously seeks to ensure that both contracts meet the future needs of the Department.